Author: Harold

Wednesday July 10          Pentecost 7

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Psalm 119 Part 1
Psalm 119 is a meditation on responding to God’s call to justice. Each of the 176 verses is a variation on the theme of what it means to follow God’s call to justice, using terms such as “command”,”law”, “word”, “statute”, and the like. The psalm is arranged in twenty-two groups of eight verses. Within a group, each of the eight verses starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the groups are in Hebrew alphabetical order. So the first group of eight verses all start with A, the second group all start with B and so on. The first seven verses mirror the seven days of creation, with the eighth sometimes pointing to the next group.

This very careful construction mirrors God’s creating the universe by overcoming chaos with order. In the human world, justice, dignity and fulfilment – the outcomes of justice—are the expressions of this order. Thus the human world and the rest of creation are united in the same foundation. Today’s three sections begin with the letters A, B and G (in Hebrew alphabetical order). As you read them, imagine the effect of each line in today’s first section beginning with A” and so on.

Deuteronomy 1.1-18                           What’s Deuteronomy about?
Today we begin a brief reading through the book of Deuteronomy. This book consists of three speeches by Moses just before the people enter the promised land. Moses then dies. In the first speech, Moses recalls their 40 years in the wilderness and encourages the people to follow the laws in Leviticus and Numbers; in the second speech Moses encourages the people to remain faithful to the one true God; and in the third speech Moses reminds them that even if they fail to be faithful, God will not abandon them.

In today’s reading Moses begins the first speech by assigning leaders to succeed him and reminding judges that they are to ensure they make decisions with justice and are not motivated by selfishness. We may be overhearing the concerns of those who compiled these stories more than a thousand years later when the Israelites were in exile in distant Babylon and were anticipating the challenges of remaining faithful to the God of justice that would arise as they returned to the land.

Matthew 23.27-39                           What’s Matthew about?
Matthew continues his prophetic description of the end of the world. The background to this relentless criticism of religious leaders is that Matthew wrote after Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans, and he understood that Jesus would have foreseen this destruction as punishment for the leaders’ faithlessness in abandoning God’s justice and care for the poor while boasting in their own importance. Today’s passage is how Matthew imagines Jesus warning of the disaster. We are to watch for the same hypocrisy in ourselves.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that what we do for the least of your children
we do also for him.
Give us the will to serve others
as he was the servant of all,
who gave up his life and died for us,
but lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Tuesday July 9          Pentecost 7

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Psalm 5
There is evil all around, but I will go into your presence, O God, and know that you are more powerful than all evil and will protect us.

Psalm 6
I have been hounded almost to death, help me, God. Thanks be to God that God heard me and the evil people will be overcome.

Numbers 35.1-3, 9-15, 30-34                           What’s Numbers about?
As the Israelites prepare to enter the land, moving finally from a nomadic people to a settled civilization, they must learn how to live in the very different environments of cities.

God commands that two special kinds of settlements are to be arranged. First, the Levites (the priests) are to have the right to certain towns and their food sources so their livelihood is assured. Second, three cities inside the land and three cities in non-Jewish territory are identified as refuges for murderers.

Until this transition into settled life, families could take personal vengeance on a killer at their own initiative, and so cycles of mutual retribution could emerge. Now God declares that anyone, even a non-Jew, who kills someone without intending to has the right to seek safety in any of these six cities, three within the promised land easily accessible to Jews and three outside it accessible to non-Jews. To prevent arbitrary acts of vengeance, a person accused of murder cannot be convicted on the evidence of a single witness. Neither can a wealthy person buy their way to freedom if they have murdered someone. The Israelites understood that God had made it clear that in settled city life social disruptions must be dealt with differently than they had been in nomadic family groupings—in cities murder cannot be righted by personal vengeance nor can wealth be used to avoid responsibility. Even murderers have rights.

This concludes our readings from the Book of Numbers.

Matthew 23.13-26                           What’s Matthew about?
The readings for the next several days come from a section of Matthew’s gospel which uses a poetic form of writing common at the time of Jesus. In this poetic form, called “apocalyptic”, there is a predictable list of approaching disasters and prophecies about the end of the world after which God arrives to put everything right. Matthew uses this popular form of writing to encourage the early Christians when things had become difficult due to their being rejected by Judaism and the city of Jerusalem being destroyed by the Romans. We also live in uncertain times and the assurance of God’s goodness being present anyway can encourage us not to be overwhelmed by the crises of our time.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that what we do for the least of your children
we do also for him.
Give us the will to serve others
as he was the servant of all,
who gave up his life and died for us,
but lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Monday July 8          Pentecost 7

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Psalm 1
Those who live in righteousness—which means with justice to all—will be as strong as healthy trees planted near water. Injustice will be blown away like chaff.

Psalm 2
Other nations scorn God and God’s people, but God has chosen this people and their king, and God will have the final word.

Christians may understand this to be a way of saying that God has made self-offering love and justice in the death and resurrection of Christ to be the ultimate reality. All other attempts at finding full life through pursuing self-interest are laughable and doomed to fail.

Psalm 3
Because of God’s protection, I have nothing to fear.

Numbers 32.1-6, 16-27                           What’s Numbers about?
Two tribes ask permission to settle on the east side of the Jordan river, and thus not in the land promised by God. Moses gives them permission provided that they commit to joining in battle against the people who already live in the land God promised. The two tribes agree to do so.

This story probably arose to explain how two tribes, those of Gad and Midian, no longer existed when these stories were compiled. This may suggest that the actual process of moving into the land was not as simple and clear-cut as the stories recount.

Matthew 23.1-12                           What’s Matthew about?
Jesus critiques the practice of being religious for the purpose of making oneself look impressive. This was a dangerous attitude to take publicly in a time when religious leaders had enormous power. Jesus concludes by saying that religious leadership consists in serving and by warning that those who seek power over others will experience a reversal of what they expect.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that what we do for the least of your children
we do also for him.
Give us the will to serve others
as he was the servant of all,
who gave up his life and died for us,
but lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Sunday July 7          Pentecost 7

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Psalm 111
God’s work of justice and restoration of the people are marvellous and we are in awe of God.

Psalm 112
People who are loyal to the God of justice and generosity are never afraid and are always generous.

Psalm 113
Praise God who has made creation and who lifts the poor up out of the dust like the sun shining on everyone.

Numbers 27.12-23                           What’s Numbers about?
As the people approach the promised land, Moses’ work of leading them out of exile is complete. God announces to Moses that he will die for having been unfaithful before the people reach the promised land. Joshua will be the new leader who will guide them into the land. Notice that a priest is required to give the final affirmation—no doubt this reflects the importance of the priests a thousand years later when the book was compiled. The Urim (and sometimes with the Thummim) were perhaps some form dice used for  discovering God’s will.

Mark 1.14-20                           What’s Mark about?
For the next two months on Sundays (for the daily office) we will be reading through Mark’s gospel.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that what we do for the least of your children
we do also for him.
Give us the will to serve others
as he was the servant of all,
who gave up his life and died for us,
but lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Saturday July 6          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 104
God has wondrously set everything in its place—from oceans to storks to whales to the sun. Praise to God who has made this earth and whose power and care is expressed in every part of the world.

Numbers 24.12-25                           What’s Numbers about?
In several ancient oracles Balaam pronounces his final blessing on Israel and predicts the fall of the nations around. He proclaims that the God of Israel will act among the nations to ensure victory for the people to whom he is faithful. This concludes the story of Balaam the foreign wizard who is totally faithful to the God of Israel.

Matthew 22.23-40                           What’s Matthew about?
Other religious leaders try to make Jesus’ assumption about life after death look foolish by pointing out the bizarre implication that if people are resurrected, someone who had been widowed multiple times would have to be a polygamist in heaven! Jesus responds that God is God of the living—in other words that in God’s new life all are alive in a new way that transcends how we live in this life, and that the leaders do not really believe in the new life. Another trick is tried—to get Jesus to take one side or another about the most important scripture—he responds with a well-known choice that the most important scripture is to love God and neighbour.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Friday July 5          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 141
Help me to be faithful to you, O God, and not be caught in evil.

Psalm 143
I am almost crushed by my enemy, and by my own weakness. But I remember how good you were in the past, and I still hope in you. Otherwise, there is no hope.

Numbers 24: 1-13                           What’s Numbers about?
Balaam blesses the Israelites. We hear what is likely a very ancient song of triumph placed on Balaam’s lips. Despite ongoing pressure from his king, the foreigner Balaam refuses to disobey the God of Israel, and blesses the people and curses anyone (such as his own king) who would curse Israel. This story would have been of great encouragement to the Israelites suffering under deportation by Babylon a thousand years later when these stories were collected and written down.

This entire story is written to give us courage as in the church we stand for a different set of priorities—not the all-consuming grasp for power, but the priority of God—the life-giving commitment to fair justice for all.

Matthew 22.15-22                           What’s Matthew about?
Because Jesus has overturned the tax tables earlier in the week, the religious leaders try to force Jesus into making a statement about the Roman taxes which will either deny the priority of the Jewish faith or deny the authority of the Roman emperor—either answer will justify their decision to execute him. This was, of course the central issue facing the religious leaders—how to be loyal to both the God of justice and the Roman gods of violence. To agree to pay taxes will ensure Jesus is abandoned by the common people because they hate the Roman extortion and oppression. To refuse to pay taxes will be treason against the occupying army. Jesus responds that Caesar and God should each receive their due, but Jesus deliberately implies that everything is due to God and therefore nothing is due to Caesar!

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Thursday July 4          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 134
A very brief two-verse psalm of praise for God, and of blessing from God.

Psalm 135
Praise to God who brings fertility and defeats foreign kings, and who defeated the Egyptians so Israel could go free, and who upholds justice. This God is so much greater than the pointless non-gods that other nations worship.

Thank goodness we know the God of justice is real, and the competing destructive public policies in our day are ultimately powerless.

Numbers 23.11-26                           What’s Numbers about?
Balaam blesses the people despite the powerful king trying to force him to do the opposite. For the second time, an ancient poem about Israel’s victory is inserted into the narrative. King Balak tries to compromise—if Balaam will not curse the Israelites, could he refrain from blessing them? But Balaam, the non-Jew, refuses to disobey the God of Israel.

The question for us is how deeply we trust God in face of powerful forces in our day which try to force us to give loyalty to greed and self-interest and violence as the ultimate power.

Matthew 22.1-14                           What’s Matthew about?
In the days before Jesus’ crucifixion, Matthew remembers Jesus telling a serious of parables about the looming crisis. In this parable a king is mocked by his rebellious officials who refuse to attend his banquet at the last minute. In the ancient world this would result in an enormous waste as the food rotted. The king responds with severe punishment and destroys their city (as in Matthew’s time Rome destroyed Jerusalem). The king further insults his rebellious officials by throwing the feast for the general public regardless of their status.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Wednesday July 3          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 128
Joy and prosperity come for those who seek God’s justice. Although the imagery is of abundance in family life, we may also experience that abundance in our sense of being full persons as we deepen our ability to care.

Psalm 129
We have been oppressed since our youth, but God ensures those who oppressed us will be defeated. They will be as useless and as stunted as stray wheat growing on a roof, and nobody will wish them well.

We may have confidence that evil directions in our world will come to nothing.

Psalm 130
There isn’t much hope of us getting things right by ourselves. But I am waiting, as if in the darkness of night for the tiniest glimmer of dawn, for God to bring God’s loving kingdom into being.

Numbers 22.41-23.12                           What’s Numbers about?
The king of Moab arranges for seven ritual sacrifices to prepare for Balaam to curse Israel using the power of wizardry. But first Balaam  consults God who gives him a message for the king. The message comes in the form of an ancient poem celebrating Israel’s survival in face of attack. We are hearing Israel’s discovery that there is only one God to whom they, as well as foreigners, are accountable.

It would have been immensely encouraging for readers struggling with the overwhelming power of the Babylonians who had enslaved them, to hear how a non-Jew a thousand years earlier could be so committed to obey the God of Israel. The idea of powerful foreigners obeying the God of Israel may have originated from the Babylonian king Cyrus who released the Jews from slavery in Babylon so they could return to their land and provide crops for his military expeditions. However, the Jews interpreted this support from a non-believing emperor as the astonishing discovery that God could guide global events far beyond Israel to fulfil the ancient promises of a permanent home for God’s people.

Their insight could be very helpful in our time of global threats.

Matthew 21.33-46                           What’s Matthew about?
As the religious leaders continue to reject God’s call to a world of inclusion and dignity for all, Jesus tells a story about the consequences to renters of attempting to kill the family who own the vineyard they are renting.

It may be that the story was intended to apply to the Roman empire which had occupied the land (“the vineyard”). Forty years after Jesus’ execution, the Roman army dismantled the enormous stones of which the temple had been constructed and rolled them down the temple hill deliberately crushing the Jewish leadership assembled below. Matthew, writing his gospel perhaps twenty years later may be collecting Hebrew Bible verses which he understands Jesus would have said not long before his execution, thus predicting both his own disaster and that of the Jewish nation forty years later. Matthew wants his readers, all Jews, to know that God will finally be victorious in justice despite both those horrors.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Tuesday July 2          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 124
We would have been destroyed in Egypt if God hadn’t been acting on our behalf to rescue us from drowning in the Red Sea. A beautiful short psalm of appreciation.

Psalm 125
A prayer that God will continue to protect God’s people by being like the protective hills around Jerusalem. God’s protection included ensuring that good people don’t turn to selfishness under pressure.

Psalm 126
Joyful memories of when by God’s act they escaped from captivity in Babylon, and returned to their land. A prayer that God will do it again.

Numbers 22: 21-38                           What’s Numbers about?
Although Balaam starts the journey to curse the Israelites, God sends an angel to prevent his donkey from proceeding. Balaam does not see the angel and he hits the donkey. God enables the donkey to speak and the donkey rebukes Balaam.  Balaam then sees the angel who explains that God would have killed him had the donkey not refused to proceed. God then tells Balaam to proceed.

It could appear that two stories have been interwtined here to produce a story in which Balaam disobeys God and God turns his disobedience to good, or it could be that the story intends to teach that God is free to intervene arbitrarily in history and even in non-Jewish cultures in whatever way God wishes. After this confrontation, Balaam the foreigner will obey the Jewish God and refuse to curse the Israelites.

Matthew 21: 23-32                           What’s Matthew about?
More challenges to Jesus as his execution approaches: the religious leaders try to trick him into claiming special knowledge of God which would provide authority for Jesus to challenge the collection of tribute by the temple, thereby undermining the religious authorities and be found guilty of rebelling against the Roman empire.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Monday July 1          Pentecost 6

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Psalm 106 Part 2
In the wilderness the people repeatedly betrayed God, and then joined horrific religions (as they understood them) when they entered the promised land, and there were terrible consequences. Even so, God took mercy on them when they were captured and caused their captors to let them return.

Their release from captivity in Babylon enabled the writers to understand that they had caused that captivity by abandoning God’s justice and how God had always forgiven and provided safety.

Psalm 127
It is useless to trust your own hard work—it is God who makes your household succeed.

Numbers 22.1-21                           What’s Numbers about?
Moab, a powerful nation, is afraid of being destroyed by the Israelites. The king of Moab sends for a powerful magician to come to Moab and curse the Israelites. The magician, Balaam, not an Israelite, is warned by God not to do this and he refuses to go. The king of Moab sends a second delegation and this time God tells Balaam to go, but to do only what God commands him.

The story is claiming that God can act even in the countries that have their own gods and that non-Jews can be obedient to God—a profound insight of the time which will lead to the Jewish clarity about there being only one God of the entire world.

This is the opening section of a highly sophisticated story describing how God uses the foreigner Balaam to reveal God’s care for God’s people.

Matthew 21.12-22                           What’s Matthew about?
These are several incidents in the days following Jesus’ peaceful entry into Jerusalem, and each illustrates an implication of his challenging the violence of Rome with the inclusive justice of God.

This story of the cursing of the fig tree was likely originally a parable told by Jesus comparing Jerusalem to a fig tree that had become useless—a devastating criticism. Forty years later around the time Matthew was writing this gospel, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and the parable was misunderstood to have been an actual event carried out by Jesus to predict the destruction of Jerusalem.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfills the law.
May we love you with all our heart,
all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength,
and may we love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Please unsubscribe me.